Curvy Style influencer Sinead O'Brien on navigating grief after a double family tragedy

Sunday World

2 days ago

'I have good days and bad days but I never panic about it, that's just life.'
'I busted my zip on my dress for the VIP Awards. I need my own show, honest to God,' she laughs.
'I put up weight since my wedding and sure I put on the dress, I was like, be grand. And then no, the zip just literally went on me. I've just gone to have it altered, it's all fine, but there's always a drama.'
It's been three years since we caught up with the Vacious founder, who's brought shapewear and body positivity to the masses.
The last time we spoke, things were equally dramatic: the model was just days away from welcoming her darling baby boy, Jacob, into the world alongside husband Simon.
But not even imminent labour could stop the fabulously unfiltered and fiercely uplifting Limerick native from picking up the phone.
'Jacob is three at the end of June. It's crazy. He's three going on 23 now, to be honest with you.' Laughing, the much-adored influencer adds: 'He's so much craic. He's so much fun and that bit older and his speech has come on so much.'
And true to form, Sinead never does anything by halves. When she gave birth to Jacob on a brilliant summer's day in June, it wasn't the only arrival.
Sinead's Vacious range of shapewear has been a big hit with women
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'Looking back, I don't think I ever took maternity leave for Jacob because I had only just launched Vacious. So I really couldn't take my foot off the pedal at the time because we had just launched the swimwear.
"There was no way I could just say, 'OK, bye everyone.' I remember, sure, I was in the throes of labour there literally in the maternity ward and I'm like, 'did we sell any swimsuits?' I always say we had two launches that day,' she grins.
Known for her honesty and relatability when it comes to motherhood and beyond, becoming a mum, she admits, was a crash course in chaos.
'I didn't know what I was doing. I remember I used to get little bits for Jacob before he was born. I got this big long brush, and I was like, that looks like a weird hairbrush.
"And it was actually for cleaning the bottles. I put it online and the laugh that people got, they loved to see how clueless I was.
'I remember Simon practising how to change a nappy on a teddy bear. I mean we were that bad. We really were because yes, I have nieces, but I was like the cool auntie that waited until they were older to bring them to McDonald's.
'It truly does come to you naturally in the end,' she adds reassuringly. 'And my mom always said she couldn't get over how much of a good mam I was from the very start.'
But the joy of Jacob's arrival was soon followed by unimaginable heartbreak.
In 2023, Sinead lost her brother-in-law, former Ireland rugby player Tom Tierney, suddenly. Just nine days later, her beloved dad, Dobs, also sadly passed away.
'I'm a singer and I sang at Tom's funeral and then nine days later I went to put on that same dress to sing at my dad's funeral and it was still wet on the rad. There was no time in between whatsoever.'
Reminiscing about the unbreakable bond she shared with her father, she recalls: 'My dad had great craic with me on Instagram.
"He used to get collabs and all, he'd have people messaging saying, 'no, we want your dad.'
"He would come on and he'd do little hauls with me and, do you know what, people loved is him and my mom's relationship because you could tell the way he'd look at her how much he loved her.'
From heartwarming videos to sentimental posts, Sinead's Instagram remains a living scrapbook of moments with her father — memories cherished not only by her followers but by her son, Jacob.
Sinead's Vacious range of shapewear has been a big hit with women
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'I've so many videos of him on my Instagram still that I often just look back on and it's lovely to have them and especially for Jacob.
"I was the first one to have a boy in the family. My dad is surrounded by women all his life, so Jacob got to meet him, which was very important to me.'
Navigating grief as best she can, the shapewear founder explains: 'I find the further out it gets, the more difficult it gets because you just realise they're not coming back. The first year you're almost running on adrenaline. Then the other days you learn how to manage.'
In what should have been a joyful lead-up to her wedding in Portugal last September, Sinead was met with the crushing reality that both her dad and brother-in-law would be absent on the day.
'Everyone used to say to me, 'you're going to miss your dad so much for walking you up the aisle.' Which of course I did. But I have to say that anytime I pictured myself ever getting married, always, always, the thing that came into my head was the speeches.
'And for me, because my dad was such a larger than life character, it tore me up a bit more inside knowing that he wouldn't be standing up there talking about me, which is what he loved to do.
'So I wrote what I called a letter from heaven and it wasn't morbid, it was like him speaking to the crowd as if it was him. I just asked everyone to close their eyes, pretend it's my dad, and honestly you would've forgotten that it was me. And it was funny and witty and everyone was crying, but it was beautiful. So that was a really, really special moment.'
Funnelling her energy and passion into her business, for the entrepreneur, shapewear is about more than smoothing lines — it's about building a mindset.
'I have women that contact me on a daily basis and say, 'I haven't been confident enough to go on a date with my husband because I didn't feel good, now I feel like I could take over the world.' Shapewear is a feeling that you get. It's what it does for you. It gives you confidence.' Read more
Empowering women of all shapes and sizes is at the heart of Sinead's mission, and she's not shy about calling out the fashion industry for lagging behind.
'The fact that we go to size 28 I think is phenomenal. And I don't shout about that enough. I think there's no excuse for brands anymore at this point. I think it's honestly disgraceful that even at this stage, if I was going to a wedding, I can't walk onto a shop floor, I have to go online because they mainly only stock up to 16. There's no excuse for it.'
Her frustration is clear, but so is her resolve to be part of the solution.
'You shouldn't have to be categorised at all. I mean, size eight to 28, they're just dress sizes and you are who you are. It's just the physical shops need to get their s**t together.'
And while she champions self-love and body acceptance, Sinead is refreshingly candid about her own body image.
'I'll be completely honest with you now. I have good days and bad days. I lost weight before the wedding. I actually lost two stone and I walked every day and I was the healthiest and fittest I ever was.'
Post-wedding life, however, brought some familiar fluctuations — and she embraces them with her trademark humour and perspective.
'Since then I've put back on a stone and look like that. The first thing I said to you today was I broke the bloody zip and the dress. I will never panic about these things. The dress can be fixed.
'I am bigger than I was now before my wedding. But I'm more than happy to go to the VIP side of awards because I know I look good regardless of what size I am. Because it's all about shapewear and also, where you are in your head.
'And yes, I definitely do want to get that weight back down because I did feel better.
'But the point I'm trying to make is you don't have to get upset or panic yourself when you do fall back a bit. That's life and it's normal.'